Page 54 of Going the Distance
Chapter 14
At some point, when I was stuffed full of ice cream, marshmallows, coffee, and popcorn, and I’d cried so much that my eyes were practically swollen shut they were so puffy, I snuggled into Lee’s side like he was my favorite oversized teddy bear and I was six years old. We hadn’t shared a bed since we were thirteen—after I’d gotten my first period, it seemed like suddenly it was only the kind of thing little kids did and we weren’t little kids anymore—but Lee didn’t object when I fell asleep against him on the floor, under our mountain of blankets.
We’d heard my dad and brother arrive home, not long after Lee and I had gotten back, and I sent Lee out to talk to them. I’d heard his voice floating through my open door from downstairs as he talked to my dad.
“Elle’s just having a rough day, so we’re watching movies and pigging out on ice cream,” he said, not explaining any further to my dad—but then, it had taken me the entire first Bridget Jones movie to feel like I could tell Lee everything that had happened without breaking down, and when my dad and brother got back, we were only thirty minutes in.
“Sounds more like a slumber party.” Dad had laughed, but no more had been said, and Lee came back upstairs to me, shutting the door.
Now, though, I stirred from sleep when my bedroom door was pushed open, and my brother said, “Hey, Elle, do you— OH MY GOD!”
The door was slammed shut so hard it made the photo frames on my desk rattle and, combined with the noise Brad made barreling downstairs, woke both of us up.
“Dad!” he was yelling. “There’s a boy in Elle’s room! She’s totally gotta be grounded!”
Lee groaned, untangled himself from me, and stretched, his neck cracking. “Ugh, I ache everywhere. I knew I should’ve stolen some of the blankets and slept on your bed instead of on the floor.”
“Sorry.” I yawned, rubbing my eyes.
I heard footsteps up the stairs—my dad, from the sound of it—that came to an abrupt stop outside my door. A pause, then a tentative knock.
“You can come in,” I called, trying to work the stiffness out of my body. “It’s just Lee.”
The door opened, my dad not doing a great job of hiding his confusion. “Oh. I thought you’d gone home last night, Lee.”
There was an edge to my dad’s voice, and the way he looked between us was obviously suspicious—if only a little.
“I thought Brad meant you had Noah up here,” he added.
“Well, that would be something,” Lee said, keeping his tone cheerful and blasé. He hopped to his feet. “Considering they broke up yesterday. Sorry, did I not mention that when I talked to you? I didn’t mean to fall asleep in here, but Elle seemed like she needed a friend.”
“You guys broke up?”
I watched emotions play over my dad’s face. Shock first, then confusion, finally settling on pity.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I really don’t wanna talk about it.” I groaned, burying my head in my hands for a moment.
“At least give mesomedetails. I’m your dad. I need to know these things. Why did he break up with you? Was it the distance—was it too much for you, did he say? Did he meet someone else, or—”
“Ibroke up withhim,Dad.” I was a little offended that he thought Noah must’ve broken up with me, but I didn’t feel like this was the time to point it out. “It just…wasn’t working.”
“Oh. Well.” My dad cleared his throat. “You holding up okay, bud?”
I shrugged.
“Do you want pancakes for breakfast?”
I managed a small smile at that.
• • •
Lee stayed for breakfast, and as we sat waiting for the pancakes to cook, he turned his cell back on to check it. I vaguely remembered it ringing last night, and him looking at the screen before sighing and shutting it off.
Now, as it came to life, I saw him wince. Guilt coiled in my own stomach, remembering how hurt and angry Rachel had sounded when he’d left her last night. I’d started to talk to him about it, but he shut me down quickly, so I hadn’t pushed it. I knew how torn he must’ve been between us. It was horrible but honestly, I was glad he’d picked me last night when I’d needed him.
“What’s the damage?”
